Why so amazed??? I retired at end of June'92 at age 50(non-management,private sector) & left $25k in the co. 401k..32% large cap index,58% in a small/mid cap index,& 9% in co. stock that was converted to a Reit index when it became available...Stayed fully invested the whole time & it's now worth in excess of $225k & that's after 3years of RMDs!! Remember, that's starting with just $25k,using low cost index funds(.03%, .04%, .13% expense ratios),not adding any money, & staying fully invested thru dot,con & recession...& that's just 1 part of my portfolio that I basically did a set& forget for 22.5 years..Doesn't get more KISSable than that!!

A batter that hits for a .300+ average is considered very good & might be called a "star"..Your results as an investor would be laughable if .300 was the best you could do!!!(less than 1 out of 3 winners)

You have to roll into a trad.IRA first & then into a Roth & pay the associated taxes..same as a normal conversion!! Be aware that there are certain protections from creditors in 401ks that you don't get with IRAs..

Example 1(car buying) is flawed..It assumes that with a Roth he wouldn't have or had to take a withdrawal with a Roth but if he was going to buy the car then, he still would have taken out $20k to pay for it ,like the RMD, & THEN changed his mind & the money at that point cannot be returned to the Roth & aside from the fact there is no tax due on the withdrawal there would be on any gains if re- invested in a taxable account just like the traditionals RMD when used in Sept. to buy the new model car!! Also,when converting to a Roth you have to have the cash available to pay the additional taxes if you want to transfer the full amount..Using the $500k in the article,if you planned on converting 10% each year from 60 to 70 & you're in the 20% bracket then you would pay an additional $10,000 the first year in additional taxes($500k x 10%=$50k x20%=$10k)...Where is the $10k coming from??? If the avg. market gain over those 10yrs. was 7.2% then if that money that was used to pay taxes was invested in a taxable account it would be worth in excess of $150k(each year the amount need to be withdrawn @10% decreases by the difference between that & the 7.2% growth in remaining amount & the taxes also... $10k 1st year,$9648 2nd yr,etc.)..Now at 70.5 both accounts would have been worth $1,000,000 using the rule of 72 but your net with the traditional would $150k+ higher..If you're now in the 25% bracket(actual tax paid),since the RMDS avg about 4.5% over the 1st 10yrs. you would have about $45k in added income @ 25% or $11.250 more in taxes/year or $112.5k total at 80.Even with no gain in the taxable account from 70.5 to 80 you would still have $37.5k left at that time..the bump up in taxable income to the 25% bracket assumes that 85% of your SS is taxed..So while Roths have some pluses it's not as simple or beneficial as most make it out to be!!! The higher the bracket in retirement the more the Roth makes sense but to me at less than the 25% or below area I'll take the extra $150k or more in net worth....reason- why pay more tax any sooner than necessary!!

YOC is a useless feel good metric that only works if the stock price rises since it needs something to compare it to like current yield..If you buy PM@90 w/$4div your YOC=4.44% If it rises to $99 over 1 year the yield to a new buyer would be 4.04% so you feel great about buying @90 with a ROI of 14.44%(99-90=$9 cap gain+$4div=13/90) & a YOC that's 0.4% higher...However, if price instead drops the same 10% to $81 while your YOC remains at 4.44% your ROI has dropped to a negative 5.55% (90-81=-$9 +$4div = -$5/90=-5.55%)..The new YOC/current yield for a new buyer rises to 4.94%($4/$81) or 0.5% higher than you...Live Long & Prosper!!

A Dividend Investor's Dilemma: Take Profits Or Let It Ride? [View article]

While the examples you used are correct the way they were expressed needs clarification..Options are priced as single shares but sold as contracts of 100shares(1contract= 100shares)..The premium for the $105strike should have been shown as $3.00 X 100=$300..Delta(& the other greeks) is shown as a decimal from 0.0 to 1.0 ..So if this were an ATM(at the money) option,in this case $100,then the theoretical delta would be expressed as .5 not 50% although 50% would be the expected change in the options value for every dollar change in the underlying stock price.As you go out of the money(OTM) the delta would decrease ie..$105maybe .45,$110/.4, while ITMs increase $95/.55,$90/.6 etc. ATM options have a delta of .5 which decreases as you go OTM & increases as you go ITM(in the money)...I like that you used a near term 30day example since that options theta(time decay) favors the seller whereas the farther out you go in time it favors the buyer since the underlying stock price has longer to reach the strike & be exercised..Happy Trading!!

A Dividend Investor's Dilemma: Take Profits Or Let It Ride? [View article]

Sell the Mar6 weekly $55.50 for .45 if called you get .67/share gain + .45premium - say $8 comm & contract fees(.08/share for 1 contract which is 100shares)=.67+.45=1.1... or DOUBLE in 3weeks what you would get in divs in 3months(.52/share)...If not called .45premium -.08 cost =.37 +.52 div = .89/share ....MO(& others like T) have weekly options which if used in the 1st 2months "between" x-div dates can enhance your income when done in a deferred account without the tax factor & eliminates the typical pre-div stock run up or early call to snatch the div...NOT for the inexperienced option trader!!!

Coca-Cola: Dividend Increase Is On The Way, Here's What To Expect [View article]

NLY is living on its reputation but is not the same since Mike Farrell died!! This is probably why your advisor is steering you away from NLY..As for a strong dividend a unique stock is VGR(Vector Group).While they haven't raised the cash div it's been in the 7+% range & every Sept. they pay an added stock dividend of 5% based on shares owned(not value of shares)..Partial shares are paid in cash based on current price..ie..If you owned346 shares then the stock div=17.3shares so you get 17shares & if current price was $20 x.3=$6 in cash.So in effect even though the cash div in dollars hasn't changed the 5% share growth is a 5% DGR..& you still get the 7+% cash div as well..Not a recommendation but some thing different to consider!!